Sanctuary of Madonna dei Miracoli - Casalbordino (Province of Chieti)

The church is an important pilgrim destination and the commemoration of the Madonna dei Miracoli on 11th June draws many devotees.

According to the local lore a farmer went to its plot of land and saw the damages after a heavy hailstorm. Suddenly he heard a bell ringing and he knelt down and prayed, so the Virgin Lady appeared to him admonishing the people of the town for their sins and to respect the Sunday rest.

The Renaissance façade leads to the splendid main altar with the original portrait of the Virgin Lady apparition. The interior plan is Latin cross with three aisles. A little parish museum holds valuable antiques, offered by the Bishop Fagiolo. Next to the church is an important Monastic Library which contains about 70.000 volumes related to religious topics, modern books and valuable manuscripts, four incunables, and about thousands of post-incunables and over 3.000 eighteen-century books.

Yearly on 11th the town commemorates the Virgin Lady with a great feast and appeals many tourists from different places of Abruzzo. Pilgrims take part to the solemn mass and procession.

The sanctuary is mentioned inside the novel of Gabriele D'Annunzio, the Trionfo della Morte (Triumph of Death).